Brett, when I went to the Cook Islands 10 years ago there were a couple of traditional vakas rotting away under a tarpaulin in the bush that had been built for a recent Pacific Islands festival where many of the delegations arrived under sail. When we went back 2 years later they had built a new one for a forthcoming event and we saw it being prepared for its trial voyage and chatted to the father of one of the crew. The navigation skills of the Polynesians were amazing and apparently relied as much on recognising wave patterns as knowing their stars. There is a large stone marking the spot where the 12 or so vakas left to colonise what became New Zealand, around the time William the Conqueror was landing in England. Former Prime Minister, author and Doctor Tom Davis, who I think is still alive as a Cook Islands rep. in NZ, was the patron of the traditional sailing society formed to keep these boat building and navigating skills alive. If you look at the Cook Islands website there's a good book list (though many others are out of print):http://www.ck/index.html and http://www.cookislandsnews.com/

RtS
( still wearing the T-shirt - and "Hawaiian" shirts!)